The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) celebrates its 33rd anniversary today. The interim ICG was founded on February 1, 1977, with two frigates, five patrol boats and a few officers and sailors from the Indian Navy, with the aim of carrying out constabulary functions in India’s 2.01 million sq km EEZ (exclusive economic zone), extending 200 nautical miles (nm), seawards from the coast.

Lightly armed ICG ships and aircraft cost a fraction of their naval counterparts, and hence the ICG was meant to be a “cheap seagoing constabulary force”, created in the pre-global terror era, and was meant to deal with “petty” crimes in the EEZ, while protecting fishermen, offshore oil rigs and also carrying out search and rescue operations, in the six million sq km Indian Search and Rescue Region (ISRR) at sea. The ICG formally came into being on August 19, 1978, with the enactment of the Coast Guard Act 1978. It is the only paramilitary force under the ministry of defence and unlike other paramilitary forces (which have their own training centres), the officers and sailors of the ICG are trained by the Indian Navy at various naval training centres.Unlike the US Coast Guard, which is a single window maritime police force for all activities ranging from ports to the EEZ, the ICG’s operations were limited to seaward of the coastline.No lessons were learnt after the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts , and a 26/11-type terror attacks was waiting to happen, specially given meagre ICG force levels and non-existent port security. Post 26/11 these loopholes have been plugged.  Presently, the ICG has about seven dozen vessels on order in domestic shipyards, has got fresh government sanctions for recruiting about 500 officers and 4,000 sailors and hopes to buy some more aircraft from HAL (Bengaluru). It will take three to five years for this trained manpower to become available.Work on an indigenous coastal radar chain for the west coast is on the anvil, and it is hoped that a similar radar chain is made operational on the east coast and the A&N islands.Further, a new Coast Guard Regional Headquarters (RHQ) Northwest was inaugurated in Gandhinagar on December 16, 2009. This RHQ (NW), under a newly created two-star Commander Coast Guard Region (NW) or COMCG (NW) is meant to provide “improved” coastal security to Gujarat Coastal security for the balance of the west coast including Lakshadweep & Minicoy (L&M) islands, continues to be the responsibility of the erstwhile Mumbai-based COMCG (West). Similarly, the coastal security of the east coast lies with the Chennai-based COMCG (East), while the Port Blair-based COMCG (A&N) looks after coastal security of the A&N islands. In addition to additional manpower and force levels, it is important that a similar Kolkata-based COMCG (Northeast) be created earliest, to cater for improved coastal security of Bengal and Odisha. There is a also a need to increase ICG presence in L&M islands, with aircraft and helicopters deployed at the Agatti island airstrip, and small patrol boats based at suitable islands e.g. Androth, Kavaratti and Minicoy islands, along with coastal radars.Post 26/11,the Indian Navy was designated with the authority for “overall” maritime security (including coastal and offshore security), and each naval command had set up a Joint Operations Centre (JOC), to enable joint anti-terror operations, along with all other maritime forces and agencies. The government further directed that the three star director-general ICG was to be “normally an Indian Navy officer” and was additionally designated “Commander Coastal Command”. Also the ICG was made the authority for security in territorial waters (i.e. 12 nm from the coast), and was required to liaise with the newly-created Indian Marine Police, customs and other maritime agencies — all these agencies are now required to assist the Indian Navy for ensuring national coastal security.ICG ships regularly sail as far as Japan, South Korea, Maldives and West Asia for exercises with their counterparts. International cooperation is important to maintain inter-operability for saving lives and crime prevention at sea, and also for imbibing new technologies to counter marine pollution etc. In addition, the ICG also needs to focus inwards on its new mandate of providing security in the territorial waters belt. The ICG urgently needs a few dozen small, indigenous “Shallow Water Patrol Boats”. Similarly, it needs more indigenous aircraft, helicopters and hovercraft.The 7,000 strong ICG is poised to almost double its strength by 2015. Ideally, by 2020, it should have 20,000 personnel with about 300 indigenous patrol vessels (80% to be small patrol boats) and 150 indigenous aircraft, and sanitise a 50 nm coastal belt. However, for the present, the ICG will have to remain focussed on  the 12 nm territorial waters belt.